Chronicles in Ordinary Time 100: More Politics

An Open Letter to Bernie Sanders

Nixon was President when I was in college; the Democratic Convention of 1968 and the Nixon Presidency were where I lost my ‘political virginity’. There I learned that nearly everything I’d learned in school about our political system, nearly everything I’d learned in Cub Scouts, nearly everything I’d learned during the years of attending American Legion functions with my parents, was fictional. When I watched “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” I realized it wasn’t fictional; it was a true story. Power Corrupts; Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely.

When I first started paying attention to the campaign of Bernie Sanders, I was skeptical. In time, I realized that Diogenes could put out his lamp; an honest man had finally been found, and we were going to elect him President.

Tonight I read the Rolling Stone interview with Jane; where she makes the statement that you knew you wouldn’t become President on June 7th. Today is July 29th. Maybe we were dense; it’s taken us nearly two months to figure out what you already knew. We believed that you believed; and we are told that belief can move mountains.

The scenario you embedded into the hearts of a million young people, people who had been politically disenfranchised, but thought they’d discovered something different in Bernie Sanders—that you would take the Delegate Fight to the Convention Floor, and Hillary would be defeated on the second vote. That scenario vanished when you resoundingly endorsed Hillary for President. This wasn’t a ‘well, this is the best we can do; and Trump mustn’t win’ endorsement; this was a ‘Hillary MUST Become President’ endorsement.

For months you have carefully, thoughtfully and sincerely putting forth the message that Hillary Clinton must NOT be elected President. Her ties to corporate America are too deep; there are too many policy issues she favors that will not help the working poor of America succeed. You did your job very well. We researched the non-Mainstream media, and discovered that Hillary is a lousy candidate for President. In recent weeks we learned from the FBI that she perjured herself before Congressional Committees when she said there was no classified information on her private, basement, email server. The FBI clearly stated that there was classified information on her server, and her email shows she knew about it. It appears that no one in Congress is seriously concerned about Perjury, which is a crime, for those not named Clinton.

The FBI stated that if the person being investigated was anyone else, they would be subject to Administrative Disciplinary Actions. Clearly, Ms. Clinton is answerable to a different set of standards than those answerable by Naval Lieutenants:

Do you seriously believe that Hillary has made a 180° turn and become a Progressive, because you endorsed her? That by adding Progressive planks to the Democratic platform, that the platform won’t be scrapped when it becomes inconvenient?

My favorite personal scenario died tonight when Hillary was coronated. I had hoped that Assange would do his fabled ‘next leak’ which would pull the plug on the coronation, and Bernie would be pulled in from the bench.

You’ve stated that the Progressive Movement you inspired, the Movement that brought tens of thousands of young Progressives to rallies all across the country, wasn’t about you. The Progressive Movement must continue into State elections, and the morons who are currently serving in the House and Senate [“Congress of baboons”] need to be removed, in order for change to occur. If Bernie was elected President in November, and Congress remained the same group of baboons, Bernie could accomplish nothing.

President Obama, the first President in my 64-year history to be scandal-free [Carter was vilified over not going to war with Iran over the Hostage Crisis], hasn’t accomplished the stuff he said he would. Given the Congress of Baboons, I doubt that any Democratic President could accomplish what he promised, even if he wasn’t African-American. He promised Change We Could Believe In. Not so much. I have a serious moral problem with his Drone War. I’ve been reminded that I don’t know what happens in the White House War Room.

We have a Black President, and a noble First Family; and White Supremacy is stronger in the US than it has been since I was a child. That idea didn’t work, either.

Movements need a leader.

When you endorsed Hillary, after all of the hours of speeches about how she should NOT become President, you gave up the role as leader of the new Progressive Movement. And now you want the people who valiantly supported you to vote for Hillary; and to not seek a candidate among the Independent parties that have Presidential Candidates. Why would you have that expectation? The Progressive Movement has gone back to being leaderless.

A million young Progressives lost their ‘political virginity’ this week.

Welcome to political life in the 21st Century. Maybe Diogenes needs to relight his lamp.